Archives for August, 2009

Yikes! How did I forget to plug the Skeptics’ Circle? This time around, it’s the Skeptics Circle #117: The Chiropractic Edition and it’s here to readjust your subluxated skepticism. Or something. Either way, it’s a hoot. I do fear one thing though. Mike Meadon referred to the Skeptics’ Circle as “venerable.” Back when a blogger…

No comment other than I’m not surprised at the hypocrisy: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy No comment here either. As they say in law, res ipsa loquitur. I’ve been intentionally vague regarding my position on the Obama health care reform initiative because, well, mainly I haven’t entirely made…

Effect Measure is a site I highly recommend with experienced epidemiologists in charge. In other words, it’s run by adults. But scientists often disagree about things. This is apparently a secret to non-scientists and many reporters who assume that when two scientists disagree, one is lying or wrong. But it’s true nonetheless. Whatever the subdiscipline,…

I’ve been ragging a lot on some of the right wing critics of President Obama’s health care reform initiative. Without a doubt, with their talk of “death panels” and their likening the health care reform bill to the beginning of another Nazi-like euthanasia program, they deserve it. But I just saw something on YouTube that…

Let’s face it, I’ve been at this “anti-antii-vax” thing for quite a while now. This December, this blog will have been in existence for five years. Even before that cold, gray Saturday afternoon nearly five years ago when, on a whim, I started up a blog on Blogspot that became the first incarnation of Respectful…

I hadn’t planned on writing about this topic again. Really, I hadn’t. The reason is mainly that politics is usually not my bag. I’ve said it time and time again: political bloggers are a dime a dozen, and I have no reason to suspect that my pontifications and bloviations on politics would be any more…

…leave it to the Investor’s Business Daily to kick it up a notch to thermonuclear as an anonymous editorialist tries to criticize President Obama’s health plan by invoking the dreaded British NHS: People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn’t have a chance in the U.K., where the National Health Service would say the life of…

While I’ve let myself get sucked into commenting on health care politics (well, not exactly “sucked in”; I was pissed off enough at the “Obama = Hitler” analogies that I enjoyed skewering some of the idiots making them), there’s another issue that’s popped up that I can’t resist commenting on in my usual inimitable fashion.…

Remember the Hitler Zombie? He doesn’t show up all that much anymore. The reason is not because a lot of brain dead Nazi analogies aren’t being used to demonize political opponents. In fact, If I had a mind to, I could probably populate this blog with nothing other than people whose brains have obviously been…

If there’s one theme that’s run through this blog since the very beginning, it’s that the best medical care should be based on the best science. In other words, I like to think of myself as being far more for science- and evidence-based medicine, than I am against against so-called “complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM).…

Too bad it’s missing one big one. There’s nothing about the birther movement there: See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor. I think that about sums it all up: moon hoax, 9/11, the Illuminati, the Masons. What more could there be?

This may be a few months old, but I only just saw it the other night. Seems like it would work: CreedocideUploaded by greenfaace. – See more comedy videos. My only question is: Where is the other major monotheistic religion?

I’m soooo envious. Why and of whom am I envious? I’ll tell you. Phil Plait, a.k.a. The Bad Astronomer, attracts a more famous class of antivaccine loon. He’s managed to attract Dr. Joe Mercola himself in the comments of a post about anti-vaccine zealots: If you TRULY are interested in finding out the truth about…

Dr. Bob Sears is the bane of science- and evidence-based pediatricians everywhere. As pediatrician Dr. John Snyder relates, whenever he hears a parent say “I was reading Dr. Sears” or sees a patient in his office holding a copy of Dr. Sears’ The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Choice for Your Child, he knows what’s…

Further tweaking of the crank conspiracy theory that is the “birther” movement: Obama Debunks Birther Conspiracy – watch more funny videos If President Obama is a Cylon, maybe he was born in Kenya and Hawaii.

There is no doubt that the infiltration of quackademic medicine into medical schools in this country represents a profound threat to science-based medicine. By mixing mysticism, non-science, and pseudoscience along with science-based medicine, medical schools are in essence endorsing quackery and elevating it to the same level as science-based and science-tested modalities. Worse, they’re running…

Did you know that acupuncture is very much related to astrology? No, it’s not just because both of woo. Rather, it’s likely true that the whole concept of “meridians,” those invisible “channels” through which our life energy (a.k.a. qi) allegedly flow were indirectly based on astrological signs, which had been used to guide points used…

Wow. After I wrote a post last week about the “birthers,” cranks who believe that Barack Obama was not born in Hawaii, and therefore is not a natural born U.S. citizen, and therefore is not eligible to be President of the United States. Like all good conspiracy theorist cranks, they trot out all sorts of…

During the month of June on this blog, I got annoyed not once, but twice. First, I got annoyed at Sharon Begley for a truly annoying and evidence-free (other than cherry-picked anecdotes) broadside against the NIH for its “culture of caution” that, according to her, is largely responsible for the “lack of progress” against cancer…

Due to annoying stuff at work and good stuff personally, I didn’t have time to grind out my usual bit of Insolence, either Respectful or not-so-Respectful, today. Fortunately, there is a long history on this blog, full of good stuff that I can repost. So, as I did when I went to TAM7, I’m picking…

Due to annoying stuff at work and good stuff personally, I didn’t have time to grind out my usual bit of Insolence, either Respectful or not-so-Respectful, today. Fortunately, there is a long history on this blog, full of good stuff that I can repost. So, as I did when I went to TAM7, I’m picking…

Due to annoying stuff at work and good stuff personally, I didn’t have time to grind out my usual bit of Insolence, either Respectful or not-so-Respectful, today. Fortunately, there is a long history on this blog, full of good stuff that I can repost. So, as I did when I went to TAM7, I’m picking…

…that my parents tied the knot. All I can say on such an occasion is that my parents, though their example, have taught me what marriage can be at its best. This evening a few dozen of our closest family and friends will gather together to pay tribute and celebrate 50 amazing years together. There…